Water is the spice of life. Without water we would not exist, nor would any form of life. Water occurs in our oceans, in our atmosphere, drives our climate, is underground, and sculpts our landscape. It is essential to our industry and survival as a species. We drink it, wash in it, paint with it, dispose of waste products in it, use it to keep things cool, use it to heat things up, use it to transport huge weights over vast distances. Yet how one single fluid manages to perform so many different functions for us is not fully understood. Even seemingly simple questions like “How are water molecules arranged?” do not have clear cut answers.

Is water made up of strings or is it a network? Does water have a second critical point? Is there a fragile – strong transition in supercooled water? What does water look like at surfaces and near biological molecules? These are just some of the questions we will be addressing at this year’s Gordon Research Conference on Water and Aqueous Solutions. A team of the world’s experts has been assembled to tell us the latest news. Do come and join in the debate about this most esoteric yet common material.